First Real Camping Day Pic!

[Moonlight Mile]

All: well I got it! So much to do today - LEARN. Newbie, 2000%. Hellva time backing in and park empty but a couple finally came along and he helped me back in. HE said it was not the easiest place to back in. I need to learn everything. Only hooked to elec so far. But restroom right across from me with SHOWER, which is now the most beautiful word in the English language, in my book. 

I am so glad I booked a week here to figure basic things out! Here is the Ollie (it’s 6:30 AM CST).

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by SherMica

[Mike and Carol]

Great picture and glad you finally have your Ollie!  Backing with a single axle is a little trickier than with a double.  Just remember that you can’t go too slow when backing in.  After 5 years I still go very slow which allows lots of time to make corrections.  Try hooking up water sometime today to make sure your faucets and toilet work.  If it’s going to be below freezing tonight unhook your hose and store it until tomorrow, just use your water pump and fresh water tank.  Good luck!  Mike

[topgun2]

So, now you are "officially" one of the family - welcome!  

After all the nerves, confusion and worry, you now have that dream of yours.  I hope that you will find it much easier to get this new way of life moving forward.  I've always found that if I can see and touch something, the whole idea of it is much easier to grasp.  Yes, there is a bunch to learn.  But, that is part of the attraction of the lifestyle.  

Don't rush (ever), slow down - you've got all the time in the world and as you have already seen, there are people around you that are more than willing to help.

Keep those pics coming!

Bill

[BackofBeyond]

Wonderful. It is all an adventure. Soon - backing the Ollie into a spot up will be just something you do as part of the process, easy peasy.

Enjoy.

RB

[connor77]

Best of luck!  Whether you know it or not you've sort of created a small fan club based on your laugh out loud posts and your genuine humility...Your questions and the answers you've received have undoubtedly benefited many others including me. 

You've been given great advice most especially the feedback about going slow and that doesn't mean just driving or backing in.  You can now breathe and learn at a pace that is comfortable for you.  Your rig looks awesome and, as far as I can tell, you parked perfectly!

Keep the pics coming and enjoy!

[Moonlight Mile]

5 minutes ago, connor77 said:

Best of luck!  Whether you know it or not you've sort of created a small fan club based on your laugh out loud posts and your genuine humility...Your questions and the answers you've received have undoubtedly benefited many others including me. 

You've been given great advice most especially the feedback about going slow and that doesn't mean just driving or backing in.  You can now breathe and learn at a pace that is comfortable for you.  Your rig looks awesome and, as far as I can tell, you parked perfectly!

Keep the pics coming and enjoy!

I am glad my qs help others! I am both terrified and excited. Fluctuates! Ha. Right now as you said just thrilled to be ok in trailer (furnace on - cold and going to be colder tonight), dog not sick anymore, and bath house shower awaits. Finally slept last night. Had been a week of packing to be FT all the driving to get to TN etc. Exhausted.

[Moonlight Mile]

Tried to use yellow thing (see 2d pic) and can’t figure it and REALLY need to get to town and leave TT/dog. So, used “Bulldog Coupler” locked with Big@ss Master Lock as you see. SIMPLE q: is this good enough? Security I mean. Dog can’t come with. I think I have this right. Cannot move “sleeve.” Three jacks down. Can they pull up and stick their ball thing under there using my elec to raise all three jacks and drive it off???

Third pic is what back of truck looks like. None of that comes OFF to drive truck in a few min, right?? TIA!

[John E Davies]

The Bulldog collar lock and padlock is 99.9% fine. The only issue is, somebody theoretically could drop your coupler onto a smaller (1 7/8”) ball and drive off. The yellow lock is designed to insert up into the coupler before you close it and install the other one. I personally would not bother with the yellow one, ever. Well, possibly, if leaving it in long term storage or in a really sketchy location, like an inner city RV park in Detroit.... Normal commercial or park campgrounds, or even remote BLM ones, do not attract felons, they tend to hang around the neighborhoods where they live. In your shoes, I would store it away for now and only pull it out when the situation warrants a little extra security.

Everything is fine. Go shop.

Don’t worry about people walking up to you, they just want to chat about that cool trailer..... or the cool truck😬

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited January 28, 2021 by John E Davies

[Moonlight Mile]

12 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

The Bulldog collar lock and padlock is 99.9% fine. The only issue is, somebody theoretically could drop your coupler onto a smaller (1 7/8”) ball and drive off. The yellow lock is designed to insert up into the coupler before you close it and install the other one. I personally would not bother with the yellow one, ever. Well, possibly, if leaving it in long term storage or in a really sketchy location, like an inner city RV park in Detroit.... Normal park campgrounds do not attract felons, they tend to hang around the neighborhoods where they live. In your shoes, I would store it away for now and only pull it out when the situation warrants a little extra security.

Everything is fine. Go shop.

Don’t worry about people walking up to you, they just want to chat about that cool trailer..... or the cool truck😬

John Davies

Spokane WA

This campground does not look sketchy - hardly anyone here - I won’t gone but a couple hrs. I will trust it is ok! Thank you!!!!

[mossemi]

1 hour ago, SherMica said:

Tried to use yellow thing (see 2d pic) and can’t figure it

You have to put the yellow ball into the Bulldog coupler and then close the coupler just like you were hooking up the truck.  After you have locked the collar and padlock you already have installed, you can put the U-shaped part of the lock into the yellow portion.  It should look like the picture when complete.

Mossey

[mjrendon]

Note that the threaded side of the u-bolt is on the keyed side of the housing, otherwise the u-bolt will slip out.

[SNY SD UP]

1 hour ago, SherMica said:

This campground does not look sketchy - hardly anyone here - I won’t gone but a couple hrs. I will trust it is ok! Thank you!!!!

Are You currently at DCSP?

[Moonlight Mile]

56 minutes ago, mjrendon said:

Note that the threaded side of the u-bolt is on the keyed side of the housing, otherwise the u-bolt will slip out.

Please don’t tell me it is incorrect now! I left for a bit!!!

[Moonlight Mile]

This is the sketchiest character I have seen this far. I am reporting him to the rangers. APB issued. Outstanding warrants. Bad egg. Prison tats, too. 

[topgun2]

Welcome back "home".  

Can we assume that all was good when you got back from town?

James looks like he is just a pup - how old is he?

Bill

[SeaDawg]

Congratulations @ lots of missions accomplished, today!

Your trailer looks great. 

[Moonlight Mile]

He is three. Since this is my off-on-all-topics thread, let me ask anyone reading this for a quick answer (I hope):

QUESTION: Is it possible to run out of propane (2 full 20 lbs tanks at deliv) after running furnace only 2 nights at 55-60 degrees? Too tired to take off tank cover - new for me also - and “check” or have tanks changed so they switch from one empty to other, which they quickly explained at deliv day.

“Help.” Thanks!

[AndrewK]

If both tanks are open and one empties, it will automatically switch to the other, once the primary is empty.

You should be able to cover all of your propane needs for at least a week, on two tanks, even if the outside temperature is well below freezing.

Andrew

[Moonlight Mile]

18 minutes ago, AndrewK said:

If both tanks are open and one empties, it will automatically switch to the other, once the primary is empty.

You should be able to cover all of your propane needs for at least a week, on two tanks, even if the outside temperature is well below freezing.

Andrew

THANK YOU!!

[SeaDawg]

Do you know which way your tanks are set up? 

It's been pretty cold today in Lewisburg, according to weather.com, but I  doubt your furnace ran much your first night. It was much warmer. 

My guess, not being there, is you are good for tonight, even if you are on the one tank setting.

At the very least,  if you're actually set in the 55 to 60, and the heat didn't kick on a lot during the day, you should be good for tonight. Maybe tomorrow. 

The only way to really tell is to remove the hood, and slide your fingertips down to feel the temperature difference,  which is actually really hard to do when it's cold out.  It's easier to feel the difference in warm air. Or, loosen both tanks, lift and feel weight difference. 

Assuming you don't have a propane guage, which we don't,  either.

You can extend the life of your propane by using a small electric heater, when you have hookups. Make sure it has tipover and overheat protection. We put ours under the small dinette, facing out. The furnace rarely kicks in, and we can use free electricity  for auxiliary heat.

Sidenote, we never leave the electric heater on when we're not physically in the trailer. 

 

 

 

[dewdev]

You got a very nice looking Oliver. You should have fun this week checking everything out. Where are you traveling back to once you leave the campground?

i noticed you have the storage basket on the front of the Oliver.  FYI, the previous owner of my Elite II told me that when he backed up too sharply the basket hit his back truck bumper and dented in the truck's bumper. No damage to the Oliver or its basket. Not sure if that would be the case for your Elite but thought I would tell you about it. Although I have only back up the trailer once since purchasing it 2 weeks ago, I did not find that to be a problem, but I must admit that is the only time for me as I put the Oliver away until spring time.

[Mike and Carol]

45 minutes ago, SherMica said:

QUESTION: Is it possible to run out of propane (2 full 20 lbs tanks at deliv) after running furnace only 2 nights at 55-60 degrees? Too tired to take off tank cover - new for me also - and “check” or have tanks changed so they switch from one empty to other, which they quickly explained at deliv day.

Two full 20lb propane tanks should last a week or more in those temperatures.  When you have the energy, take a look at the regulator in between your tanks.  There is a black lever that can point to one tank or the other.  I point mine to one tank so that when it runs out I know it.  Then I point the lever to the other tank and get the empty one filled.  

I second Sherry’s suggestion about a small electric heater.  We have a very small Vornado that we use when we have shore power.  It is quiet and keeps us plenty warm on low.  Mike

[Moonlight Mile]

Got the small heater (tip proof) at Walmart when I was out on The Big Shopping Thing. Thanks! I remember opening the propane cover (or watching as Orientation Guy did it, anyway). Will check manana. 
 

New “Off-Topic”™ —

Question: Trigger Warning. Contains Descriptions of Bodily Functions. When I return from outside (after maybe an hour or more) I smell a strong urine odor. I did pee in the toilet twice (never been hooked to water OR sewer so far) but was too new to be confident to flush. So the “liquid” stayed wherever it goes. “Black Tank,” right?

First time I drove-towed 3 blocks back to OTT, arrived and found it had splashed out into shower basin a bit. Ew. Rep was unfazed and said just take the jug of water I had in truck and splash water in there to clean it up. As you saw above, water stayed in shower basin until I learned today (thanks to you guys) to not be afraid to pull harder on the black handle by the base of the toilet. And voila! It drained out. 
 

Yet today I ventured to WalMart and after 2-3 hours returned to strong smell of urine. Like a lame game of “Clue,” suspicion was first cast on “Dog in the Cabin Alone For Two Hours.” 
 

But NO. He has NEVER peed in a dwelling of any kind, even as a puppy. Ever. Not once. He has been cleared of any wrongdoing and a public apology had been issued (herein).

So . . . was it Me In The Toilet Peeing Twice & Not Having Something Open Or Closed Properly (still)? The suspect list is small.

BTW. Rep said he did NOT smell anything like that even when he entered cabin with me and said throw water from jug in shower basin where it had somehow splashed a bit. Lid yo toilet was NOT left open at any time (even on 3-block drive towing Ollie back to OTT where splashery was first discovered).

What is causing this? Any ideas? Dog has been cleared. I have not used Ollie toilet since the Splashing Mystery began nor after the water jug cleansing nor since the “pull hard on the black handle” lesson this morning.

I am baffled. And no, I have not smelled the smell since unloading stuff I bought at Walmart and I have been walking with Dog, James Dog, and in and out of the Ollie many times. Now sitting in Ollie and do not smell anything. 
 

TIA. This was TMI but I did warn you guys. Heh.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by SherMica

[Jim_Oker]

47 minutes ago, dewdev said:

FYI, the previous owner of my Elite II told me that when he backed up too sharply the basket hit his back truck bumper and dented in the truck's bumper.

If I'm not mistaken the basket is the first thing you'll collide with on either model (if you have that basket on the tongue) if you are jacknifing. I'm still teaching myself with my new E2 to know how far toward jacknifing I can go (i.e. how small/sharp an angle I can have between trailer and tow vehicle when backing up without having the two touch (i.e. in this case bumper to basket). At least in part it seems like a matter of knowing how the trailer looks in the mirror - i.e. how far to the outside of the mirror does the outer edge of the trailer go). And btw at least with my tow vehicle once I'm anywhere near that sharp an angle while backing, the angle keeps decreasing as I continue backwards (i.e. the tow vehicle keeps pushing the hitch further sideways as I continue back). It's a funky thing to learn - there's a sweet spot where I can maintain an consistent angle between the two but it's easy to get past that and it will just fold right up at that point if I don't watch out, which would be no bueno.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Jim_Oker

[BackofBeyond]

How long are you staying in your current spot?  Sat weather  looks interesting -  would you like a visit - my SO needs to get out for a brief trip. (ok, so would I , and  the dog - Harley) 

text me - 615  six 0ne three two four23.

Edited January 28, 2021 by BackofBeyond